The Liberty Papers

In a stunning display of either laziness or frugality (you can guess which I ascribe this too), our government has finally admitted that their ridiculous policy of banning lighters and breast milk don’t make us safer.

Airline passengers will be able to bring many types of cigarette lighters on board again starting next month after authorities found that a ban on the devices did little to make flying safer, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said Friday.

The agency also announced that it was changing its policy on breast milk, and will allow mothers with or without children to carry more than three ounces onto planes.

I’m sure those mothers without children are quite happy about this development.

You’d almost be surprised, if you didn’t know government, to note that they’ve finally realized what the rest of us knew several years ago: that lighters don’t ignite breast milk.

And rocket surgeon Kip Hawley, the head of the TSA, explains why they’ve changed the policy:

In an interview with The New York Times, TSA chief Kip Hawley said confiscating lighters has not helped security much because other items could be used to detonate bombs.

I can only assume he’s talking about more than three ounces of toothpaste?

But in other news, the government that told us that invading Iraq would keep us safe from Al-Qaeda and allow us to fight them “over there”, now tells us that Al-Qaeda is building new cells in the US:

A top U.S. military commander said Tuesday he believes there are al-Qaida cells in the United States — or people working to create them — and the military needs to triple its response teams to counter a growing threat of attack.

Air Force Gen. Victor “Gene” Renuart, who heads U.S. Northern Command, said that as the terrorism threat within the nation’s boundaries has increased officials have strengthened intelligence sharing, particularly in an effort to shore up security at ports.

“I believe there are cells in the United States, or at least people who aspire to create cells in the United States,” Renuart said in an interview with The Associated Press. “To assume that there are not those cells is naive and so we have to take that threat seriously.”

Yep, so the same guys who have been going on and on about lighters and breast milk for the past few years, who have been promising to keep you safe for the last 6 years, can keep you safe as long as you triple their manpower. Yet these are the same guys who take credit for the fact that we haven’t had a major terror attack in the US since 9/11. It’s almost Orwellian.

A few years ago, I would have told you that government can’t do anything effectively and efficiently, but they could probably at least be effective at providing safety, if not efficient. After all, it’s their actual job, right? But the more I watch, the more I realize they can’t even do that right. I keep asking… Why exactly do we need government?

Hat Tip: Billy Beck